The present invention relates to a multi-chip package including one or more chips and, more particularly, to a multi-chip package in which only normally operational chips can be selected and used when failed chips exist in the multi-chip package.
In line with the recent development of the semiconductor industry and the requirements of users, electronic devices need to be further miniaturized and designed to be more light-weight. One of technologies used to meet the requirements is multi-chip packaging. Multi-chip packing provides a plurality of semiconductor chips in one package. A multi-chip package improves characteristics associated with miniaturization, light-weightedness and mounting when compared with several different packages including semiconductor chips.
A package in which a plurality of chips are mounted as described above operates in response to a select signal for selecting a chip. In general, while one chip is operating, the remaining chips are not operated.
In a multi-chip package, each chip is generally selected using an externally input address. In the case of a package device including four chips, the first chip is set to ‘00’, the second chip is set to ‘01’, the third chip is set to ‘10’, and the fourth chip is set to ‘11’. Each chip is selected according to an input address.
The external addresses are sequentially input in order from ‘00’ to ‘11’. If any one chip malfunctions, the sequence of the addresses becomes irregular, causing failure of the package device.